Tricycle First Impressions

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Hey! It’s Saturday, March 16, 6:20pm and I just finished my first ride on my new AZUB TRIcon recumbent tricycle: 7.24 miles in 46.21 minutes, top speed of 25.6 mph.

AZUB TRIcon Recumbent Tricycle

AZUB TRIcon Recumbent Tricycle

Here are my first impressions:

  1. WOW! This is too much fun! It’s awesome to simply sit back in a nice seated, upright position and just watch the scenery roll by.
  2. I did not feel nearly as vulnerable as I thought I would. Alertness and caution are still a must, but motorists gave me plenty of room. It’s a great advantage when approaching a corner to simply creep along at 1 mph. You don’t have to worry about falling over while traffic passes and makes its right turns in front of you. You don’t have to go until you are sure all is safe from behind.
  3. Rear view mirrors are a must. I have two, and surprisingly used both equally.
  4. It was much easier to take off from a dead stop than I anticipated. Just be careful to gear down before coming to a complete stop, otherwise too much stress is placed on the knees. It’s very easy to break and downshift at the same time with a trigger shift setup.
  5. The TRIcon was very sturdy and solid. The steering is amazingly tight and crisp, even for an indirect setup. Any wobble I experienced was me pulling on the handlebars for leverage while simultaneously mashing the pedals.
  6. Tricycles are not built for speed. At least ones with 20 inch wheels are not. My largest chain-ring in the front is 52, smallest cog in the rear is 11. On level ground my top speed was about 21 mph. My road bike’s largest chain ring in front is 50. Given the same gearing on my compact road bike as I have on the trike, I would have easily achieved 27+ mph.
  7. Let’s talk about speed. On a quarter-mile 2% downgrade I easily reached 25+ mph. On a 5% downgrade of any appreciable length, I can already tell that speeds of 40 or even 50 mph will be easily attained. My point? You can’t break the laws of physics just because you are on a tricycle. At 25 mph it was startling to experience how even the slightest correction on the handlebar was greatly magnified at speed. Long-story-short: you can flip your tricycle! Anything over 20 mph, you’d better have a good grip on those handlebars and pay attention to the road as to avoid sudden corrections or any otherwise jerky movements.
  8. The only pain I experienced was in my right ankle. I hit a small pot-hole while I had pedal pressure on the right side. Because I was clipped in, it really jolted that joint. Lifting slightly on bumpy terrain helps.

All-in-all it was a great ride. I can’t wait to get back out there.

The Gospel – What Is It?

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In order to understand why the Gospel truly is good news, one must understand what it actually is. Simply put, the gospel is a tale of God’s greatness, and his love and mercy toward fallen humanity, particularly me. There are many Bible verses that support the following paragraphs, but I will not toss you to and fro between them at this time. In a nutshell the Gospel goes like this:

God Is Great

God is immense beyond comprehension. He created all things; the universe fits into the palm of his hand. He is unimaginably awesome in power, righteousness, perfection, and holiness. He is the creator of all things, and sustains all things. He created all life, including me through His vast power and loving will. I owe all to Him. He is worthy off all the praise, admiration, glory, and reverence I can muster.

I Have Fallen Short

Instead of being thankful for what God has done for me and humbly submitting to His will for my live, I rebelled, and broke the letter and spirit of God’s law in countless ways. I am ensnared and bound as a slave to my sin. I am guilty before God and worthy to receive whatever righteous judgement He deems appropriate. I am lost and without hope of ever doing anything that could pay Him back or avoid His wrath.

God Stepped Into Space and Time

Sin cannot go unpunished. As a matter of fact, God says that apart from the shedding of blood there is no expunging of sin. Thankfully, God gave me a way out. In His great love for me, He sent His own son, Jesus, into the world on my behalf. Jesus took on flesh, became a man, and as a man lived a perfectly sinless, God-centered life. Ultimately, in perfect submission to the will of His Father, Jesus laid down His own life as payment for the sins that were mine.

My Salvation

Three days later, God raised His Son from the dead and exalted Him to His own right hand,  where He reigns in complete authority over all power and principality. By doing so, God declared that Jesus’ death is completely sufficient to forgive and cleanse all sin. The instant I placed my faith in Jesus and His work on the cross, God instantly granted me total forgiveness of all my sins, past, present, and future. God poured his Holy Spirit into my heart. I was spiritually reborn as a child of God, and became a joint heir with Christ in the kingdom which is to come. Sin no longer has power over me, and I do not have to obey it anymore. I have a new Master, one who literally loves me to death.

Wow! If that is not Good News Only, what is? That’s the Gospel in a nut shell. Over time I will share more about the Word and its power. Thanks for visiting and please feel free to comment or share your opinion.